"Basically, it's a mistake. He's a 39-year-old adult who made a mistake," Martineau said. "He put his hand where he should not have put it. He's, in a way, lucky. He'll have a full recovery." Martineau said he visited Sakic in an unidentified hospital this morning, and that he was "very upset with himself."

"He's very, very mad at himself. I've never seen him like that, and I've known him for 21 years," Martineau said. "He knows he made a mistake."

Martineau said he knows Sakic and the team will be asked "Why was a player with a bad back out using a snow blower?"

"You just have to walk with the machine. There was no problem for (Sakic) walking. The machine does all the work and it's basically just going for a walk," Martineau said. "It's just an unfortunate thing that happened."

"He put his hand where he should not have put it. He's, in a way, lucky." Haven't we all been there, fellas?

We scoured the Colorado Avalanche roster to find which player should have been blowing for Sakic. Obviously, Tyler Arnason was an option, because he's not doing anything else; but then again, Darcy Tucker could have avoided any mechanical dangers by spearing all the snow until it melted.

Sports Crackle Pop writes that "on the heels of Derrick Rose sitting on a knife in bed and Plaxico Burress misplacing a bullet in his leg, comes this story from Denver" under the headline "Another Stupid Injury."

At this point, what's left for the hockey gods in trying to communicate to Joe Sakic that he should have retired? Crop circles? A visit from the ghost of healthy seasons' past? Gold watches and "Over the Hill" coffee mugs raining down on his home? So sad.